21st Century Fox co-chair pushes back on criticism that Fox News is 'state TV' under Trump

21st Century Fox co-chair Lachlan Murdoch rejected the
notion that Fox News represents a sort of "state TV" under
President Donald Trump.

Murdoch's comments came at Business Insider's IGNITION
conference.

21st Century Fox co-chair Lachlan Murdoch on Wednesday defended
criticism of Fox News' cozy relationship with President Donald
Trump and longtime embrace of right-wing politics, particularly
on its opinion side.

Asked by Business Insider CEO Henry Blodget whether the network
lived up to its former slogan as a "fair and balanced" news
organization, Murdoch compared Fox News to the distinction
between the opinion and news sections at the New York
Times.

"Is the New York Times fair and balanced?" Murdoch said in
response at Business Insider's IGNITION conference. "You've got
to look at the news organization and the editorial organization."

"One of the reasons why the New York Times is such well-respected
newspaper and a very fine news organization, is that their
opinion is very strong," he said. "And there's clearly a
direction and an opinion that speaks to their readers. It's the
same for Fox News."

"I don't think that's true, and I don't think that any media
organization should be behind an individual," Murdoch said. "You
can be behind ideals and concepts, you can be behind whether you
think your viewers want lower taxes and higher employment."

"You should never get behind an individual because individuals
can be fallible," he added.

Murdoch largely avoided questions about the future of 21st
Century Fox. He refused to answer questions about whether the company was
attempting to spin off most of the company besides Fox News
to Disney, but said the company would never buy CNN.

He also praised the recent wave of sexual harassment revelations,
which have resulted in high-profile television departures
by anchors at Fox News, NBC, CBS, among other industries.

"We should all see it as a very good year because it is
completely unacceptable for men, and unfortunately we're seeing
powerful men, engage in harassment in the workplace," Murdoch
said.